St. Luke's Church - Faribault, MN | Where the gospel brings life to generations.

New Member Sunday – Encouragement from Titus 2:11-15 and Testimonies

April 30, 2013 by slcfaribault

New Member Sunday – Encouragement from Titus 2:11-15 and Testimonies

Message preached on April 28th, 2013, by Pastor Aaron Brockmeier. The message is followed by testimonies by the individuals joining Saint Luke’s.

What a wonderful Sunday.

For God’s Glory!

Listen to Message:

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http://slcfaribault.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/new_member_sunday_titus_2_04_28_13.mp3

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Give Your Children Stability

April 30, 2013 by slcfaribault

Children need stability.[1]

As parents we should give our children as much stability as we possibly can.

Children need to know that there is stability in their parent’s marriage. In this world of broken relationships, reinforce to your children that their parents love each other. Demonstrate that love for each other in words and in deeds. Noelle and I have learned that if our children see us arguing, then they also need to see us work through the reconciliation stage. As parents we need to model forgiveness, grace, and the truth that even if mom and dad don’t appear to like each other right now, they will always love one another. Give your children confidence by taking the initiative to be proactive in building a strong relationship with your spouse. Schedule date nights, read marriage books together, go to a marriage conference, spend time with each other, and find mentors and peers that will encourage you in your marriage.

Parents, if you are divorced, widowed, or still single, please do not “play married.” Do not invite others into the children’s relationship at a level greater than friendship until you have made the commitment to be married. Remember, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4).

Parents we need to give our children the stability that comes from them knowing, without a doubt, that they are your beloved children. Make this explicit. Don’t just assume they know you love them, tell them, out loud! Sit them down and express to them that they are loved by you. Point out the special ways God has made and gifted them. Spend time teaching them about the biblical truths of grace, forgiveness, and that no matter where they go or what they choose that you (and God) will always love them and pursue them.

Bless your children with financial stability. Striving to model biblical stewardship in your finances. Intentionally give to others and to the church. Seek to save as a family. Are you intentional in how you spend? Have you looked into providing financial stability for your children if something tragic would happen you? It’s perhaps uncomfortable to do so, but have you made out a simple will? Do you have enough life insurance that would pay off your debts and provide for them if you died? Be deliberate in your finances so that you can provide that foundation for your children.

Give your children the stability to know what to expect from you as a person. Be a person of integrity. Let your “yes” be “yes and your “no” be “no,” even if that costs you time and money. Live out your faith in Jesus from Monday – Saturday (not just on Sundays at church).

Hands down, the greatest factor in your children’s faith is you! If you do not live out a faith in Jesus and cannot say with humility, “Follow me as I follow Jesus”, seek God’s help to follow Him (1 Corinthians 11:1). Some simple steps to begin and to continue in: (1) Make church a priority for your family. Set Sundays apart as a day of worship, rest and fellowship. (2) Find a mentor that can disciple you. (3) Set a plan of study for the Bible. In these steps, ask your pastor for help. Pastors should love to help you grow.

If you put all these into place, you would think that would be great stability but parents, these alone are not enough! There is a greater foundation still needed. The tragedies recently affecting our nation are a reminder that we must give our children stability so that they can withstand whatever would happen – even death. Psalm 46 is powerful picture of the stability that can be found even when the earth itself gives way and wars cause widespread destruction.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling…the nations rage, the kingdoms totter…”Be still, and know that I am God.”…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46, ESV

The stability to face anything is only found when God is with us. When God is with us we can be still even when the rest of the world is spiraling out of control. God with us is Jesus – Emmanuel. In Jesus we can take heart even when we face the troubles of this world and death itself, because Jesus has overcome the world and death.

Parents, children need stability. Give your children Jesus. You cannot teach what you do not know. Open the Bible, read the gospels, consider Jesus claims for forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, and put your trust in him. Teach your children to do the same.

Jesus is the foundation for life that will not be moved. You can give your child absolute security and confidence as a child of God when you give them Jesus.

Children need stability. Will you provide that for your children?

-Pastor Aaron

[1] For example, Gary Collins in his book “Christian Counseling” contends that if children have family stability they are less likely to exhibit misbehavior such as violence, fighting, vandalism even if they live in high-violence neighborhoods (Gary Collins, Christian Counseling, Pg. 481). Ruby Payne argues for stability as the key for getting and staying out of poverty (poverty defined as a lack of necessary resources) (Ruby Payne, “Bridges Out of Poverty”)

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What to look for in the End

April 26, 2013 by slcfaribault

People are always trying to discern when the end will come. And no, I’m not talking about the end of this winter (It’s done, correct?)! When will the end of the world come? What are we to look for in the end?

Before we get to what to look for in the end, I want to address the why. Why do we look to the end? Two reasons stand out:

First of all, because there is fear of the end. Death is the last enemy and it is the great unknown. Not being able to conquer death on our own and not knowing what it entails causes a deep fear for many. For them, the end is without hope because they see the end as truly “THE END.” They believe that when it comes, they will amount to nothing more than cosmic dust. The fear of being a meaningless speck leads people to look to the end with a desire to be assured that there is still more time on the clock. If they judge that the inevitable end is not too near, they are reassured that there is more time to “eat, drink, and be merry.”

Yet others look to the end in a hopeful sense. This is no surprise. Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that God has placed eternity into each one of our hearts. And therefore we experience a desire for more than what this life offers. C.S. Lewis often argued for God’s existence from this natural desire in humanity. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity: “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger; well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim; well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

For many of us, as we experience the deep brokenness of this world, we know this is not our home and we long for another place, another world, to be our home where all is right and unbroken. And this is exactly what the Bible teaches us that Jesus will bring in the end.

Jesus came first in humility, with gentleness to bring the hope of salvation to those who trust in him as king over their entire life. Jesus will come again in power, to put an end to evil, to defeat the last enemy – death, and to bring judgment and justice. King Jesus will reign and in his kingdom, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). This hope is given to the people of King Jesus.

One of my favorite books is Lord of the Rings. One passage that I love to read is when Sam and Frodo are nearing Mt. Doom in the dark land of Mordor. They are exhausted, beaten down, and believe all their companions to be dead. They alone must face a seemingly unconquerable enemy and as they look to that enemy they are both discouraged for the end of both of their lives appears to be near. But then, “There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tower high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach”(J.R.R. Tolkien, “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”). The realization that there was light beyond the darkness gave Sam the hope to continue because he knew in the end there was beauty even if it was obscured momentarily by evil.

As you live in this world that is often dark and filled with evil, look to the end and therefore look to Jesus to bring you Hope. Look to Jesus being with you by providing his Spirit so that you can endure suffering and persecution for His name’s sake (Mark 13:13). Look to Jesus being with you as you face the effects of this broken world, as nations turn against nation, as turmoil and tribulation are common. Look to the end with confidence knowing that it does not bring condemnation but hope for Jesus’ followers.

The end will come. To those who look to Jesus now as king, they should also look to Jesus’ return with great hope. When the king returns he will bring heaven to earth and the complete consummation of his kingdom. God’s kingdom will come and God’s will, will be done as heaven comes to earth.

Friends, look to the end! Not to see how much time is remaining. Not with fear. But with eagerness and hope, for in the end, the one true king will return.

Come Lord Jesus!

Pastor Aaron

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,” (1 Peter 1:3–8).